This evacuation plan and the resolution opposing the well site are the most drastic steps District 6 has taken against oil and gas well development near its schools. That's because the site near Bella Romero would be a "significant industrial site," as Deirdre Pilch, the district superintendent, said in a work session Monday. It would be a massive, 24-well operation about 1,350 feet from the school.

This past year, explosions and fire from oil gas sites and situations have killed four people and seriously injured nine more in Weld County — all but one involved workers at specific oil and gas sites. A home explosion last April was the anomaly. The home was 178 feet from a well with a severed gas line that seeped into the home's basement, and two men inside were killed.

"It's important to be as prepared as possible," said John Gates, Greeley's mayor as well as the district's safety coordinator.

Gates is working to that end with the Greeley Fire Department on the enhanced evacuation plan, which Gates said should be finalized within two weeks. It would involve evacuating Bella Romero students and teachers up to 150 feet or further from the school's fourth-through-eighth-grade campus before heading by foot — or bus, if there's time — to the school's K-3 campus, which is a safer distance from the well site and where parents could pick up their kids.

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The plan presents a host of challenges, Gates said, not the least of which is the unknown. Unlike fire and lockdown plans, which can be informed by incidents that have happened at other schools around the country, the district's enhanced evacuation plan is for a disaster that hasn't happened. And, said Greeley Fire Chief Dale Lyman, the number of variables involved make it more complicated: whether the incident is a gas leak, fire or explosion, as well as weather, time of day, wind speed and wind direction, would all affect an evacuation.

"They might have to modify what side of the building they evacuate to," Lyman said.

In 2016, Greeley firefighters had their first real test involving an oil and gas fire and setback distances. A lightning bolt struck a wastewater injection storage tank east of town, which sparked a four-hour blaze with flames as high as 100 feet in the air. The closest house was 459 feet away, and it was unscathed. Even a line of trees 200 feet from the blaze were unharmed.

Lyman said then, and reiterates, that illustrated for him that current setbacks will keep people and structures safe from fire. But, a smoke plume or natural gas leak could pose further problems that make an evacuation plan a good idea.

"I don't want to leave the impression they're not safe," Lyman said. "The evacuation plan just brings a higher level of safety and preparation that all schools should have."

The lack of sidewalks around Bella Romero is another complicating factor. If students and faculty are evacuating on foot, they'd be walking on or near the same roads that nearby residents would use in their vehicles as they left the area. Gates said there's a hardpacked dirt surface on the side of the road that should help students and faculty get to the K-3 campus safely, and that the lack of sidewalks affect students more if they're walking to and from school in the mornings and afternoons. Still, during an evacuation, communication between the district and incident command, which would be shared by the Greeley Fire Department and the Weld County Sheriff's Office, would be the "critical piece" to getting students and faculty out safely, Lyman said.

Ideally for the district, it wouldn't have to implement this plan at all. In April 2017, a group including the Sierra Club and Greeley residents near the proposed site sued the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to revoke the permits it gave Extraction to build the site. District 6 is not party to the lawsuit. District spokeswoman Theresa Myers said it was not approached to join the lawsuit, which went to oral arguments Dec. 22. A decision from Denver District Court Judge Kenneth Laff could come anytime. The plaintiffs' lawyers also filed for a preliminary injunction that would prevent Extraction from starting construction while Laff is deliberating.

So, amid all this uncertainty, the best District 6 can do is be pragmatic. That's why it's coming up with its enhanced evacuation plan. The district's only other option, should Laff rule in favor of the COCGG, is that Extraction will listen to the district's resolution and move the site further away from Bella Romero.

"That's the only thing we can hope for," Myers, the district spokeswoman said. "At this point, our expectations are fairly low."

— Tommy Wood covers education and Evans city government for The Tribune. You can reach him at (970) 392-4470, twood@greeleytribune.com or on Twitter @woodstein72.